L’espace-Obama : une victoire des réseaux sur les territoires

Spatial characteristics are more relevant than socio-economic features to distinguish Romney and Obama’s electoral bodies. A cartographic representation at county level that uses a population cartogram as a base map makes the opposition between both geographies obvious. As in 2008, big cities and other places interfacing with the outside world favoured Barack Obama, whereas outskirts and small cities primarily voted for Mitt Romney. This spatial dichotomy is not surprising considering the parties’ opposing views on the idea of society : whilst the Democrats support the idea of a society of individuals linked by solidarity, the Republicans remain based on the idea of communal groups knit by conservative norms. Obama’s geography, as well as the reforms he carried out as president, show that he is the candidate for those who reject the moral order supported by the Republicans and those who want to establish post-communitarianism in the United States of America.